Cub and Little Princess
by lajulie
Summary: A series of short Han/Leia fics from the perspective of the best Wookiee friend and Life Debt partner you could ask for. Originally posted on Tumblr for Scoundress Saturdays.
1. In Translation

_Yes, it's a Han and Leia fic in which neither Han nor Leia actually appear. On the way back from a mission, Luke and Chewbacca discuss their friends. Prompt: "I really need a new job."_

* * *

 **In Translation**

Luke found Chewbacca alone in the cockpit, again.

"Hiding out?" he asked, and Chewie made a sympathetic growl that Luke took to mean, _yes_. _Maybe my Shyriiwook is getting better_ , Luke thought. Or maybe some things didn't really need translation.

"Here," he offered, holding out a mug of kaffe, "thought you might want this. In case we're in here for a while."

Chewie snorted and accepted the mug with a grateful grunt, gesturing to Luke to sit down. Being careful of his own kaffe, Luke sat down in the pilot's chair with a sigh.

 _Four hours back to base._

"Well, it could be worse, I guess," Luke said, sipping his kaffe thoughtfully. "They could still be yelling at each other."

[Are they talking]? asked Chewie.

"They were when I left," Luke said. "It's…awkward, though. Like they went from fighting to—agreeing with each other in a really angry way."

Chewie nodded thoughtfully. [Stubborn], he growled.

"That's for sure." Despite the awkwardness of their situation, Luke was quietly pleased at how much of Chewie's speech he could understand. "They both always have to be so damned right," he observed. "But they'll work it out, I guess. They always do."

Chewie gave a whuff of agreement.

Luke chuckled. "If Wes were here, he'd be upping the odds on them right about now. I could clean up."

[Not if I clean up first], Chewie shot back, and Luke had to laugh. He didn't actually participate in most of Janson's bets about Han and Leia, but if Chewie did…well, perhaps he should reconsider.

Luke took another drink of kaffe, "Do you think they know?" he wondered.

[About the bets? Cub knows], Chewie said.

"Leia knows, too, I think. I'm a little afraid to ask." He sipped thoughtfully. "But no, I mean, do you think they know about—" Luke made a little hand motion.

[That they are meant to…]? Chewie was speaking, but Luke didn't understand the end of what he said.

"I'm sorry—?"

[That they love each other], Chewie said, simplifying the phrase and speaking more slowly this time.

"Yes, that. Do you think they know?"

Chewie considered that for a long moment, sipping his kaffe, then nodded. [They are afraid to know], he growled. [That is why they tear apart and come back together. If they fight they do not have to know. If they do not know, they do not have to lose. But they know.]

"Yeah. I think you're right." Chewie was starting to sound suspiciously like a wise Jedi master, or at least what Luke imagined a Jedi master to sound like, if they commented on such things. He wasn't sure why he'd never noticed that before. Perhaps because he hadn't had this lengthy of a conversation with Chewie alone before. "So what do we do?"

[We…] Chewie said something Luke didn't catch at all. At Luke's confused look, the Wookiee pantomimed speaking, then stiffened his arms and moved as if he were channeling Threepio.

"We have to become Threepio? Oh. I see. You mean _translate_." Chewie whuffed in confirmation. "Translate what?"

[They think it is about a fight, what they have. Or about mating or not mating. But we know better. We see better], Chewie said.

Everyone else on base seemed to think that way, Luke knew. That's what most of the bets were about: whether Han and Leia would kill each other or burn the base down with their, er, _mating_ , as Chewie called it. But Chewie's words (growls?) reminded Luke of what he did see from his friends. All the times he'd seen Leia defend Han to High Command when he wasn't there. The thermal mug of kaffe Luke recognized from the _Falcon_ that Leia often had in her office when she was working late. The way Leia and Han interacted during a mission, almost communicating without words. The way Han would always bring back Leia's favorite foods when he went on a supply run. The way they looked at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

"I've tried to…suggest that," Luke admitted. "To both of them. But I haven't gotten any farther than that. We can't make them see it if they don't want to."

[They are afraid to see], Chewie said again. [It is our job to translate until they can.]

Han and Leia's discussion in the corridor was becoming more animated now, although it no longer sounded hostile. Frankly, it sounded like…flirting.

Luke sighed. "I really need a new job."

[You and me both], Chewie agreed.


	2. Mission Objective

_Han and Leia are arguing. A little of the truth slips out. From a drabble prompt: "You're out of your damn mind."_

* * *

 **Mission Objective**

[Don't mind me, I'm just going to go fly the ship now!] Chewbacca roared, striding toward the cockpit to start the takeoff sequence. He knew he sounded angry, but he'd mostly yelled to be heard over the fight Cub and the Little Princess were having right now.

Tensions had been running high the entire trip, although in part that was just a continuation of the tensions that had been building for the last few weeks on base. Cub liked to complain that the Little Princess needed to relax, but the truth was that both of them had been strung tighter than the cord of a crossbow for longer than Chewbacca could remember.

Cub could deny it all he wanted, and did, loudly and vociferously: _you're out of your damn mind, Chewie. Shut up, Furball, you're imagining things. She can barely stand the sight of me, are you kidding me with this?_ But Chewbacca knew Cub better than anyone else, probably better than Cub did himself right now. He could see the soft spot Cub had had for the Little Princess and the Little Jedi from the beginning. And he could see how that care for the Little Princess had grown into something else, something beyond friendship. He could also see that the Little Princess felt the same, much as she tried to protect herself from it.

Chewbacca had lived in this galaxy for a long time. He knew what love looked like when he saw it.

 _If only they weren't two of the most stubborn humans in the galaxy_ , he thought as he took off.

From the sounds of it, they had moved their argument to the medical bunk so that Cub could help the Little Princess patch up the wounds she'd gotten running back _into_ the building where they'd met with their contact. A building that had been bombed minutes before.

Cub's voice was softer now. "All right, hold still, I gotta clean this first." There was a pause. Chewbacca heard the Little Princess make a little wincing noise, then Cub was back to their argument. "I still don't know what the hell you thought you were doin', running back there. Chewie said you must be crazier than I am."

 _True_. He had said that.

The Little Princess's voice was tight, like she was bracing herself against the pain. "Had to—see if we could salvage anything."

Chewbacca could almost hear Cub's eyes roll. "Give me a break. Salvage what? Your precious _mission objective_?"

They were hitting all of each other's buttons again, and not in a good way. "Yes. The mission objective was important; that's why it's the _mission objective_ ," she said, her voice rising. Then she went back to defending herself. "I took a calculated risk. Well within Alliance protocols."

"Alliance protocols? Are you kidding me?"

"I know you don't care about—"

"Damn right I don't care about protocols! What the hell good is all that if you get blown to hell? Fuck the mission objective, I care about YOU!"

That was as close to the underlying truth as had ever come out of Cub's mouth. And from the silence that followed, it seemed that the Little Princess had been struck speechless by it, leaving Cub's words hanging in the air.

 _Maybe it's too much to hope. Or maybe these two will finally get somewhere_ , Chewbacca thought, steering them into the stars.


	3. Contaminated

_Chewie chaperones as Han and Leia clean up from a rather messy encounter with an exploding plant. Dialogue prompt: "'Oh, let's poke it with a stick!' s/he says. 'It won't explode!' s/he says. 'No, not toxic at all!' s/he says."_

* * *

 **Contaminated**

Luke was needed on patrol, so Chewbacca had drawn the short straw this time: supervising two of the most stubborn humans he had ever met as they prepared for decontamination.

The Alliance base on Hoth wasn't fully set up yet, and even if it had been, the area designated for decontamination wasn't so much a chamber as it was an area of the hangar where ships (and beings as necessary) could be hosed down or otherwise cleaned. Given the frostbite risk, and the fact that the cargo bay where Chewie had locked Han and Leia for the duration of their return journey had to be decontaminated now anyway, it seemed wise to complete the first stage of the process inside the _Falcon_ instead.

Which is how Chewbacca found himself holding up a sheet between Cub and the Little Princess as they disrobed before scanning by the Two-One-Bees. The stony silence that had prevailed between the two during the flight had broken soon after they landed, and now Chewbacca felt like the referee in a verbal smashball match.

"Ugh. It went down my back," the Little Princess groaned, throwing her uniform top on the pile of contaminated clothing. "At least we got what we came for."

"And then some," sniped Cub. "You know how much money I'm gonna lose if we gotta throw out cargo 'cause it's infected with Poisonous Jewelweed or Zeltronian Nightshade or whatever other kind of toxic snot we got all over us right now?"

Chewbacca groaned slightly. There wasn't much left in this bay to begin with, and most of it was stuff they'd been unable to unload for various reasons. That's why he'd thrown them in here for the flight back.

The Little Princess's shoulders visibly tensed. "The Alliance will compensate you for any lost cargo," she said. She turned her head, taking in the contents of the bay. "I'm sure we can spare the twenty credits. And I told you," she continued, "It's not toxic."

Cub gave a mirthless laugh to that statement. "Yeah, sure, right. You _told_ me. Ain't that why we've been sitting in goo for the last three hours?" He hurled his shirt towards the clothing pile.

The Little Princess was taking down her pants. "We would've been fine if you'd just tapped it like I said."

 _If you know what's good for you_ , Chewbacca thought, _you'll just let it go, Cub_. _Don't take the bait._

But instead, Cub chose to do what had to be the worst, most sing-songy imitation of the Little Princess Chewbacca had ever heard. "'Oh, let's poke it with a stick!' she says. 'It won't explode!' she says. 'No, not toxic at all!' she says."

 _I do not get paid enough for this_ , thought Chewbacca. _Where the kriffing hells are those droids?_

Unfortunately, the droids were still nowhere to be seen, and the Little Princess was being just as bad about allowing her temper to be provoked. "I do not sound like that," she said coldly, whipping around to face Cub over the sheet. He was still facing the other way, pausing from the argument to step out of his bloodstripes.

Chewbacca saw the Little Princess's eyes briefly go wide at the sight of Cub's bare back, and filed that information away for the next time Cub tried to tell him _She doesn't think of me that way, anyway, so there's no point_.

Cub turned back around, so that now they were arguing face-to-face across the sheet. "You sound _exactly_ like that," he said. "Always gotta be so damned _right_."

 _That makes two of you, Cub._

"I _was_ right," she said, "it was Selonian Balsam. Completely harmless."

"Well, I guess we'll see. Still, gonna take some time to clean up all this crap. Valuable time."

"You got somewhere else to be, flyboy?" The Little Princess stepped closer, looking up at Cub.

"Maybe I do." Cub stepped closer as well.

 _Oh, for Sith's sake_ —[That's it!] Chewbacca roared. [I'm done! I wish this _had_ been Zeltronian Nightshade, because maybe then you two would just _mate_ already and stop these ridiculous arguments!] He dropped the sheet and stomped off to find these damned droids.

* * *

Han and Leia were so busy gaping at Chewbacca's abrupt departure, at first they failed to notice how close they were standing to each other.

Leia felt herself blush as she realized she was face-to-face with Han's bare chest, and took a step back. She noticed his eyes go wide briefly, then he stepped back, too.

Han looked to where Chewbacca had gone, putting on an air of bravado that he often seemed to use in awkward situations. "So. Wonder what crawled up his ass," he said.

Leia had to laugh at that. Her Shryiiwook wasn't perfect, but she'd caught the gist of what Chewie had said, and in any case, it was obvious. "Us, I expect," she said.

The bravado fell away, and Han laughed, too. "Yeah, I guess so."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Leia grew serious again. "I'm sorry about—this," she said, indicating the goo that still clung to parts of their bodies.

He grinned at her. "'S all right. I'm sorry, about–"

"Yeah."

Another silence, another set of smiles, and as if orchestrated, they drew closer to each other again. Han opened his arms in a hug, and Leia stepped into them, her own arms closing around him.

"Is this okay?" Han asked.

"I think so," Leia said. "It's not like we can get more covered in goo."

"No, I mean—"

"Yes," she said, carefully resting her head on his chest. "This is just fine."


	4. Overheard

_Wookiees have excellent hearing, and excellent advice. Chewie listens as Cub and Little Princess grow closer on the way to Bespin. Originally posted on Tumblr for Scoundress Saturday, in response to an ask for a Bespin snippet from Chewie's POV._

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Overheard**

The sound of the Little Princess's laughter rang out into the corridor. Chewbacca paused for a moment to listen, his paw poised over the volume control for the music player in case he needed to turn it up again.

No, they were just talking. For the moment, at least.

He returned to his task, tightening the bolts on the cover to the power converter. There was no hurry; in fact, they were actually running out of things to fix or upgrade on the ship. If they hadn't had to leave Hoth in such a hurry, they would have had access to more parts, could actually finish all the repairs they had been meaning to do.

Of course, if they hadn't left Hoth in such a hurry, they likely would have had a functioning hyperdrive, and there would be no Little Princess on their ship at all by this point.

Those first few days had been a bit dicey. It was like Cub and Little Princess had been holding on for dear life to the last bricks from their respective walls, the tension ramping up and then dialing back down between the two of them again and again. Chewbacca had been about a day away from sitting the two of them down together for a very serious talk about the bantha in the room, because hells if he was going to spend seven weeks playing the travel version of Will They Or Won't They with only Threepio for company.

Chewbacca had been relieved when they seemed to have finally done some talking on their own, then amused when they'd rolled into the lounge several mornings later with rumpled hair and the complete inability to hide the smiles on their faces. Cub would have had his hide if he'd said anything, but both of them were so—what was that word that humans were fond of saying about tiny furry creatures? Oh, yes— _cute_.

And they were good for each other. Chewbacca had never heard the Little Princess laugh so much as she had on this trip, and even when she was not with Cub, the warmth and humor and joy they'd only glimpsed from her from time to time before was on full display. For his part, Cub seemed to have shed any attempts at maintaining his mercenary shell, his defenses completely dropped for the first time in forever.

Not that either of them had illusions about the uncertainty that lay ahead. In fact, each of them had approached Chewbacca individually for his advice on handling that, Little Princess during one of her daily Shryiiwook lessons and Cub while they were supposedly fixing something (that Chewbacca had already fixed).

His words for each of them had been the same.

[Nothing is certain in this life], he had reminded them. [Do not pretend, but do not let your fear take away your joy.]

Their reactions had been the same as well, the beginnings of a protest: "But what if—"

He had patted the Little Princess's hand gently, ruffled the hair on Cub's head. [You think you are not worthy of this love. You are wrong. It is yours. No one can take it away.]

From the sound of things, they had taken his advice to heart, though he knew that trusting in the future was a daunting thing for both of them. He'd known they had courage, but to let yourself be loved was bravery of a different kind. He was proud of Cub and his mate for that.

Chewbacca listened again for a moment. Then he turned the music player up.


	5. Plan Me No Plans

_For the record, Chewbacca is not matchmaking. He is merely trying to help Cub and Little Princess see what should be obvious to them. It doesn't quite go the way he'd planned. Or does it? Originally posted on Tumblr in response to "I wish you would write a fic where...Chewie tries and fails to play matchmaker for Han and Leia."_

* * *

 **Plan Me No Plans**

For the record, Chewbacca was not _matchmaking_. This was nothing like the Rogues' clumsy attempts to trap Cub and the Little Princess in a supply closet that mysteriously locked from the outside, or their crude innuendos every time the two were paired on a mission, or their almost embarrassingly obvious efforts to ask Cub his thoughts on the Little Princess in random conversation.

And matchmaking implied pushing together two beings who did not know each other, or who would not otherwise have thought of one another as potential mates. Given that he had been rather straightforward in his conviction that the Little Princess was meant to be Cub's mate, Chewbacca knew for a fact that Cub had at least considered the possibility, even if he'd deemed it an _impossibility_. And Chewbacca would be willing to bet credits that the Little Princess had considered it as well. High Command certainly had, given the number of times Cub had been warned to stay away.

No, Chewbacca was merely helping Cub and the Little Princess…see some things. They could not be convinced or coerced; given their stubborn natures, they had to see it for themselves or they would continue to dismiss it outright. And frankly, Cub was on borrowed time as it was. They didn't have another three years to get used to the idea and begin to move forward.

But how to help them see? The best strategy, Chewbacca reasoned, was to team them up on a mission. Despite occasionally disagreeing—loudly—on strategy, Cub and the Little Princess made an excellent team in the field. They had worked together enough to build trust, and their strengths complemented one another. Also, missions seemed to exhilarate them both, make them bond a bit more.

It would also be helpful, Chewbacca reasoned, if the mission could be one in which they would be inspired to see one another in a different light. Perhaps there could be an intimate dinner or simply some time holed up together in a bunker. While Cub was not fond of formal events, the Little Princess's formal attire on other missions had certainly caused him to see her differently (which he generally shrugged off by telling her something like, "You clean up pretty good, Your Worship"). Straightening his collar or brushing lint off his jacket also gave them the opportunity for tactile interaction, which Chewbacca had surmised was helpful for the human version of courtship.

* * *

Chewbacca waited for his opening, and it came a few weeks later, via a random comment the Little Princess made at one of their weekly dinners on the _Falcon_.

"The challenge," she said, "is finding a place and time to make the transfer."

[The yearly festival of the moons on Onderon will be occurring shortly, will it not?] Chewbacca asked.

The Little Princess smiled. "That's perfect." She began scrawling something on the datapad she had apparently been concealing on her lap. "Thank you, Chewie."

* * *

Chewbacca had managed to suggest key details to the Little Princess for the mission, enough to ensure that his own covert purpose for her and Cub went as planned and that the Little Princess still felt in control of her mission.

The one thing Chewbacca had neglected to account for—or, more to the point, the one person—was the Little Jedi.

It wasn't that Chewbacca was opposed to him coming. The Little Jedi was a wonderful friend, an able fighter, and an exceptional pilot, and Chewbacca was very fond of him. But his presence would throw the dynamic off, make it difficult for Cub and the Little Princess to make their discovery. Honestly, Chewbacca suspected that the Little Jedi's presence was a last-minute addition from certain members of High Command, to do just that.

The other problem was that it was a covert mission, and the Little Jedi was terrible at bluffing. Or answering to his own code name.

"When I say 'Avron,' you're supposed to respond, because I'm saying your name," the Little Princess gently corrected, for the third time.

"Sorry, Lei—I mean Amalia."

"That's all right. Let's try it again…"

[Little Jedi]? Chewbacca called.

"What is it, Chewie?" he asked, seeming eager for the distraction.

[One of the droids seems to be malfunctioning], Chewbacca told him. [Perhaps you have some advice]?

"Sure," he said, obviously very happy for the distraction. "I'll be right there."

* * *

The droid situation wasn't that serious—since Chewbacca himself had created it, he knew exactly how to fix it—but the Little Jedi gladly stayed behind to assist, meaning that Chewbacca's real mission was back on track.

Everything seemed to be proceeding as planned. Cub, forced to compete in politeness with the Little Jedi, gave the Little Princess a gracious compliment on her attire and even smiled while she adjusted his collar. She had returned his comments with a genuine compliment of her own, and they'd been all smiles on their way to the formal gathering.

But when they came back, they both were acting extremely strange. It was as if they'd become polite strangers, reporting back on the success of the data and intelligence transfer they'd done in a matter-of-fact sort of way before heading their separate ways to change into their regular clothes.

The Little Jedi had noticed it, too. "Are they both acting really weird, or is it just me?" he asked after they both went to change.

[It is not just you], Chewbacca said sadly. Something must have happened to make them more tentative around each other. Maybe a fight. _Never mind, there will be other missions._

* * *

Leia took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Han's cabin. He broke out in a grin when he saw her.

"C'mon in," he greeted, and she did.

She'd tried to be less tense, but it was difficult given all the…distractions. Still, they still had a little time—"Do you think they suspect anything?" she asked.

"It a problem if they do?"

She smiled. "No, it's not. I just like to know where we stand."

"You and me both," he said. He took her hand. "So—mission's not over yet…"

She looked him in the eyes. "That's right," she agreed.


End file.
